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52
babies with breast feeding or dietetic upsets, closed down. The society, which was
founded in 1918 by the late Sir Truby King, was one of the pioneers in child welfare.
The Council had long been associated with it in its work and had given financial help
towards the care given to London women and children at its centres. Children from
the London area attending the child welfare sessions were referred to neighbouring
Council centres. Mothers and children who would have gone into the in-patient
department at Cromwell House were referred to the residential unit at the Violet
Melchett Centre, where treatment is provided for mothers and babies experiencing
breast feeding difficulties and for babies with dietetic upsets.
Providing
Day
Nurseries
and
Creches
Arrangements with the six voluntary associations providing day nurseries
continued satisfactorily during the year. Financial assistance was granted towards
the maintenance costs of two nursery play groups and one part-time day nursery.
Clinics
Variations in the attendances at sessions of different types held in the maternity
and child welfare centres are shown in the table on page 50. The areas served by
the various centres are defined and it is to the advantage of mothers and children
to attend the appropriate centre, so that they can keep in touch with the health
visitor of their area. Any mother is, however, free to choose which centre she
wishes to attend.
The practice continued of allocating clinic medical officers to child welfare or
ante-natal and post-natal work, according to preference. Many of them are general
practitioners holding part-time appointments with the Council.
Tests
Every expectant mother attending the Council's ante-natal clinics for the first
time has a specimen of her blood taken in order that tests may be made for the
Rhesus factor and the Wassermann or Kahn reaction. The necessary laboratory
services, including those needed in connection with outbreaks or suspected outbreaks
of active infectious diseases, have continued to be carried out at hospital laboratories
free of charge to the Council, pending the facilities being made available through the
public health laboratory services.
Pregnancy diagnosis tests are carried out for the Council at certain hospital
laboratories or at the Ministry of Health's laboratory in Shrodell's Hosnital. Watford.
Health
Education
Full use has been made of the educational activities at the centres. Health
visitors have given talks on mothercraft, etc., and with the co-operation of the
Council's Education Officer, sewing, dressmaking and cookery classes have been
provided for expectant and nursing mothers at many centres.
Family
Planning
Accommodation at certain of the Council's welfare centres is let free of charge
to the Family Planning Association for the purpose of holding family planning clinics.
There are now 31 weekly sessions held by the Association in Council or other premises,
and, in addition, 6 sessions a week are held by the Council at which family planning
advice is given.
989 women were referred by the Council to the Family Planning Association for
birth control advice when further pregnancy would be detrimental to health.
Care of premature babies
Special equipment is provided, if required, for use when a premature infant is
being nursed at home. Three sets of equipment are held in each of the nine divisions
and are available on request. A deposit is made for the loan of a set, and this is
refunded in full when the equipment is returned.
The arrangements outlined in my report in 1948 with respect to special transport
facilities when these infants have to be removed to hospital have operated throughout
1951. The specially heated cots carried on the ambulances were used on sixty-five
occasions for premature infants.